Diamond-integrated optomechanical circuits

Abstract

Diamond offers unique material advantages for the realization of micro-and nanomechanical resonators because of its high Young's modulus, compatibility with harsh environments and superior thermal properties. At the same time, the wide electronic bandgap of 5.45 eV makes diamond a suitable material for integrated optics because of broadband transparency and the absence of free-carrier absorption commonly encountered in silicon photonics. Here we take advantage of both to engineer full-scale optomechanical circuits in diamond thin films. We show that polycrystalline diamond films fabricated by chemical vapour deposition provide a convenient wafer-scale substrate for the realization of high-quality nanophotonic devices. Using free-standing nanomechanical resonators embedded in on-chip Mach-Zehnder interferometers, we demonstrate efficient optomechanical transduction via gradient optical forces. Fabricated diamond resonators reproducibly show high mechanical quality factors up to 11,200. Our low cost, wideband, carrier-free photonic circuits hold promise for all-optical sensing and optomechanical signal processing at ultra-high frequencies.

Advances in diamond nanofabrication for ultrasensitive devices

“…This prevents wafer-scale processing and it represents a challenge in the application of conventional diamond nanofabrication methods. On the other hand, polycrystalline diamond films, which can be grown in high quality from 4 to 6 inches' wafers 5 , permit to fabricate optomechanical components with quality factors and oscillation frequencies rivaling single crystal diamond 6 .…”

Diamond Nanophotonic Circuits Functionalized by Dip‐pen Nanolithography

“…S2). Using nanofabrication routines developed originally for the electronics industry CVD diamond thin films can be structured into subwavelength photonic devices, which allow for propagating light over centimeter distances, the realization of high quality optical resonators and on-chip interferometers [8,12]. This way the powerful toolbox available to integrated optics can be efficiently utilized to realize a sensitive readout platform for biological signals.…”

“…We simultaneously functionalize several microring and microdisc resonators with different dies and high precision, allowing us to route fluorescent emission with photonic waveguides to arbitrary locations on chip. Our approach holds promise for hybrid optical systems and nanoscale bioactive devices for robust biomedical and environmental high-throughput sensing applications.2 Photonic components made from diamond have emerged as a promising platform for applications in quantum optics [1][2][3][4], non-linear optics [5,6] and optomechanics [7,8].Because of its remarkable material properties such as broadband optical transparency, high mechanical stability and hardness, high thermal conductivity, and good chemical stability, diamond is used for a wealth of applications in research and industrial environments. In particular the combination of appealing optical properties and biocompatibility make diamond an attractive platform for biophotonic applications [9][10][11].…”

“…S3 for the waveguide geometry and guided modes). About 900 nm of polycrystalline diamond are deposited on oxidized silicon wafers via microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (CVD), resulting in a diamondon-insulator wafer, which can be used for fabricating waveguides and routing the light through photonic circuits [8,12]. The diamond layers are then polished via slurry based chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) to a thickness of 600 nm.…”

“…2 Photonic components made from diamond have emerged as a promising platform for applications in quantum optics [1][2][3][4], non-linear optics [5,6] and optomechanics [7,8].…”